When Fu Wan woke up, it was already broad daylight. Sunlight streamed through the window onto the floor of the room, and everything outside was peaceful and serene, as if yesterday's storm had never happened.
She didn't know what time it was, but she quickly got up, washed up, and lifted the pot lid to see the breakfast that Ye Xiaocui had left for her.
Goodness, doesn't her mother get tired? She didn't sleep all night and was still able to make breakfast this morning.
They must have delivered the abalone early this morning and made breakfast as soon as they got back!
As Fu Wan had guessed, she quickly devoured a cornbread and then knocked on Fu Ming's door to enter his room.
"Brother, the weather outside is nice, do you want me to open the window for you to let the sun shine in?"
Fu Ming was lying on the bed, feeling bored. The wound on his leg had started to itch a little last night, but the pain had subsided. He didn't know if it was because he was numb or if the medicine he had applied was working.
"Open the window and get me some books to look at; I'm so bored."
On Fu Ming's bed was a small radio that he had half-assembled; it was a scrap part that he had picked up from a junkyard.
He was stuck halfway through assembling a book because he was missing a part. He was feeling very irritable. When he saw Fu Wan, he remembered that she used to like reading storybooks, so he quickly asked her to bring a few to pass the time.
The Fu siblings had attended junior high school, but neither of them passed the high school entrance exam. Since the family was short of money at the time, both of them were literate.
Fu Wan only remembered that she had collected storybooks before her marriage in the closet of her room after his reminder. She quickly took them out, dusted them off, and delivered them to Fu Ming.
"Xiao Cui, is Xiao Cui here?"
A voice came from the doorway asking what was going on, so Fu Wan put down her book and quickly pushed the door open to go out.
Who is it?
The visitor's eyes lit up when he saw Fu Wan, and he then handed over what he was holding.
"Ah Wan, I'm Aunt Wang. Thank you so much for saving my daughter last night. Ah Qing, quickly bow to your sister Wan!"
Fu Qing, who had initially been hiding behind Wang Xiuer, saw Fu Wan come out and stood up, smiled at her, and then bowed to Fu Wan.
"Thank you, Awan, for saving me!"
Fu Wan looked at the woman in front of her who was half a head taller than her. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and her two long braids hung down in front of her chest.
She was pleasantly surprised, "Auntie, is Sister Qingqing all better?"
When Fu Qing was ten years old, she fell and, according to her mother, she couldn't remember anything after waking up. She and her friend, who had been studying together, dropped out of school and went home.
Normally, when I see Fu Qing, he seems a bit slow and clumsy, but now he seems much better than before.
Wang Xiuer beamed with joy at the mention of this, “Thanks to you, after Aqing came home last night, she took a nap and developed a fever. I gave her half a tablet of Analgin last night, and to my surprise, she was able to speak more clearly this morning!”
"Auntie, my sister Qingqing is all better now, the good days are yet to come!"
Wang Xiuer was even happier when she heard this, and stuffed the chicken she was carrying into Fu Wan's hand.
"Ah Wan, you know your aunt doesn't have much. I've kept in mind how you saved Ah Qing yesterday. This chicken is a laying hen, and it's already been cleaned up."
Consider this a small way of repaying your kindness. If you ever need any help in the future, just come to me!
Fu Wan looked at the chicken in her hand, its feathers already plucked, and dared not take it. "Auntie, you can't do this. I would have saved it if it were anyone else."
"Qingqing is feeling better, you should take this back to help her recover. If I accept it, my mother will scold me!"
Wang Xiuer raised her eyebrows. "Your mother isn't the kind of person who's so unreasonable. Listen to me, take it back!"
After saying that, she put the basket of vegetables and the chicken at Fu Wan's feet. Before Fu Wan could chase after her, Widow Wang grabbed her daughter and ran away.
Fu Qing was pulled along by her mother for several steps before turning back to look at Fu Wan. When she met Fu Wan's gaze, she smiled again.
"Mom, I'm sure I've seen this little sister before. Didn't I go to school with her when I was little? Doesn't she have an older brother?"
Wang Xiuer, holding her daughter's hand, answered as they walked, "Yes, yes, her brother is A-Ming, and that's A-Wan. You can say so many words now, that means you're all better."
The mother and daughter chatted incessantly the whole way, while Fu Wan looked at the basket at her feet and began to struggle.
"Mom!" Shen Lingling, who had just said goodbye to Xiao Hong's house next door, was about to go home for a drink of water when she saw her mother standing at the gate of the yard.
The little guy flew into Fu Wan's arms like a happy little bird, and then saw the plucked chicken at Fu Wan's feet.
"Mom, has our little flower been killed?!"
Chen Lingling's tears came without warning. Waaaaah, the little flower she fed every day was killed! But the chicken soup smelled so good, waaaaah...
Fu Wan found it amusing and pulled her into the house with the basket. "This isn't Xiaohua; it's a thank-you gift from another auntie to our family."
Why should we express our gratitude?
"Because Mom saved an aunt who had fallen into the water."
As they were talking, Ye Xiaocui's door was pushed open from the inside. Ye Xiaocui rubbed her back and yawned as she came out. She immediately saw the chicken on the ground and was instantly wide awake.
"Wan'er, why did you kill the chicken?"
“I didn’t kill her. Aunt Wang brought her here to thank me for saving Sister Qingqing last night.”
"Oh dear, it's such a waste to kill this laying hen!" Ye Xiaocui said with regret. Wang Xiuer's husband died early, and she was raising her daughter alone. Unfortunately, her daughter was a little simple-minded, so she was a pitiful person.
“Your aunt was afraid we wouldn’t accept it, so she specially killed it and sent it over.”
"Forget it, I'll just cook some soup and send a bowl to her family later, with extra meat. Qing'er has suffered too."
Since that's what she'd said, Fu Wan agreed. The hen weighed only about three pounds, so she simply cooked it all, adding some dried cuttlefish and scallops that she'd previously prepared, and then simmered it over low heat.
In no time, the aroma of chicken mixed with the fragrance of squid and scallops filled the entire courtyard.
Even Fu Ming, who was in the room, could smell it.
The neighbors outside were even more vocal in their complaints.
"Xiao Cui, what are you cooking? It smells so good!"
"It was Ah Qing's mother who brought this chicken to thank my Ah Wan for saving her daughter!"
"Oh, no wonder!"
Just then, the gate to the courtyard was knocked on again. Ye Xiaocui looked and saw that it was her good friend, Aunt Jiang, Fu Liang's mother.
"Xiao Cui, here are two fish and a few eggs. I'll add some vegetables to your family's meal."
Ye Xiaocui was puzzled. This sister's family wasn't wealthy either, so why was she suddenly bringing things?
Aunt Jiang put the things in the kitchen, and before Ye Xiaocui could refuse, she pulled Ye Xiaocui aside and whispered, "Thanks to Awan last night, my Fu Liang pried open a small bucket of abalone and exchanged it for several tens of yuan!"
"You have to accept this. If you don't, I'll have my son bring you the money from selling the abalone, and then we'll cut off all ties!"
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